56 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[February, 
A Virginia Corn-House. 
FIG. 5 
framing.” [Work may be saved by dispensing 
with all mortises and tenons, stout iron spikes be¬ 
ing sufficient to hold them together securely. Eds.] 
“Fig. 7 shows the framing to support the purlines 
of the roof, which is covered with long shingles 
rove from pine logs; the shingles project 2 feet 
over the eaves. The butt-ends of the plates and 
purlines are all put at one end ; the slight taper 
will do no harm. The poles for the frame above 
the sills are uniformly about 5 inches through at 
the butt-ends, and have the bapk removed. The 
panels are made of 2 to3-iuch poles, set quite close 
together, nailed at each end, and left with the bark 
FIG .1 FIG.2 FIC:3 
A progressive farmer, residing in Chesterfield 
County, Virginia, where money is scarce and wood 
plenty, finding the buildings greatly dilapidated, 
went to work to right them. He sends the result 
of his experience, in one case, to the American Agri¬ 
culturist, for the benefit of those in similar circum¬ 
stances. He says : “ My first attempt was a corn- 
crib, for which I adopted the rustic style, using the 
young pines which had overrun the fields. By the 
plans of my work, herewith given, any person un¬ 
derstanding the use of 
the simplest tools, can 
construct such a build¬ 
ing. From a wliitc-oak 
log, 18 inches in diame¬ 
ter, cut 4 pieces, each 5 
feet long, for founda¬ 
tion-posts, squaring 3 
feet of the top (fig. 1), 
the portion intended to 
go into the ground be¬ 
ing left entire. The 
depth to dig the holes 
was found by levelling; 
for example, the spot 
where one post is to be 
set, is six inches higher 
than the ground where 
the second is to be ; the 
first hole is to be dug 2 
feet deep, and the 
second 11 foot, and so 
on for the others ; this 
will make the posts 
level on top. To make 
the building rat-proof, 
I nailed an inch board 
on top of the posts, „ 
projecting 5 or 6 inch- Fl S 8 ' 1 to ^.-working plans of corn-house. 
es each way ; then plates of tin were fastened to 
the edges of the board, the corners being secured 
together with wires (fig. 2). Two sills (8 to 9 iuchcs 
through at butt), with a straight spot hewed at each 
end, were spiked on top of the posts, and four floor- 
timbers, notched where they rest upon the 6ills 
(fig. 3), were nailed in place. To hew the ends of 
the sills and other timbers so that they will not 
wind, after having cut the flat surface on one end, 
tack a straight-edge (a, fig. 6) flush with it, as at b : 
then hold another straight-edge on the other end 
and sight toward the first, bringing their edges in 
line, and mark where the score is to be cut as shown 
by this. Having the floor-timbers in place, take a 
chalk-line and snap it across their ends, over 
the center of the sills, to mark the places for the 
mortises for the posts (e, ef, fig. 5). In width, the 
mortises are one-tliird the average diameter of 
the posts, and in length the diameter of the 
smallest post. As the tops of the floor-beams will 
not be level, a level line to work from as a guide in 
making mortises, putting on the plates, etc., is ob¬ 
tained by a chalk-line across the bottom of the 
posts as shown in fig. 4 ; this is done by standing 
- AV ^ s / / / s s / s ! 
Fig. 8.—RUSTIC CORN-CRIB COMPLETE. 
the posts in place—securing them with cleats—and 
afterwards taking them down to cut the tenons. 
All mortises and tenons should be cut, holes bored, 
and the timbers fitted together on the ground, as in 
framing any other building; then if one or more of 
the poles is crooked, it can be allowed for in the 
on, thus producing a pleasing and picturesque 
effect. The floor may be of 2-inch boards or split 
poles. The door or doors may be constructed of 
2-inch poles, nailed to stout cleats and a brace, and 
hung with ordinary hinges. It is better to have the 
jambs of ash or hickory, as being more durable. 
Shelves may be put up on either side of the door, 
for storing seeds, etc. Partitions are shown by the 
dotted lines in fig. 5. All the lumber used on my corn- 
house, was fit for no other purpose save fire-wood, 
and all the labor beside my own, was two days 
work of a helper at 75 cts. per day. With the 
abundance of pines and cedar here, one can put up 
such buildings very cheaply, apd they are much 
more appropriate to the country than the old block¬ 
houses, and are more durable, and pleasing in ap¬ 
pearance, as the engraving at fig. 8 plainly shows.” 
Study Your Markets. 
The question of success or failure with most 
farmers, depends upon their knowledge of the 
markets. Many industrious and skillful farmers 
fail just at this point. They know how to cultivate 
crops, but are poor salesmen. They keep in the 
beaten track, and never vary the relative propor¬ 
tion of meadow, pasture and tillage, seldom try a 
new crop, or seek to improve their breeds of cattle, 
swine, or poultry. They do not read much, and 
seem not to be aware that farming, like other pur¬ 
suits, is in a transition state, and that they must 
meet new demands or fail in business. The change 
is so great from the age of homespun, which 
closed some fifty years ago, to the present time, 
that our younger readers can hardly appreciate it. 
Then, almost every thing consumed in a farmer’s 
family in the Northern. States, was produced on his 
own farm, or manufactured under his own (roof. 
Nearly all table supplies, except sugar, molasses, 
tea, and coffee, were of his own raising. The house¬ 
wife spun and wove not only all her table and bed 
linen, but all the clothing for her household. She 
made the cotton and tow wicks and dipped them in 
tallow, for the lights in the dwelling Travelling 
shoemakers made the annual supply of boots and 
shoes. The trade which a farmer had with the out¬ 
side world was of a very limited character. All 
this is changed now. No cloth is made in the home. 
The spinning-wheel and loom have long since gone 
into kindling wood, and only the small linen wheel 
and distaff is preserved occasionally as a memento 
to the thrifty habits of our grandmothers. The 
farmer has become a purchaser; buys all that he 
wears, buys much that he eats, buys oftentimes his 
fuel aud lights. To meet these new demands, he 
has occasion to study the markets, to find out what 
people want in exchange for the things he must 
purchase. Especially does the eastern farmer 
need to study the home markets. Tillers of the 
low-priced lands of the new states, by aid of cheap 
transportation, are able to compete with, him in 
wheat, corn, and other grain, so that he can not af¬ 
ford to raise them to sell, by the old method at least, 
though possibly he can for his own use. Hay, po¬ 
tatoes, and some other articles are so bulkly, that 
he has little competition and can sell them at a 
profit. In perishable articles, poultry, eggs, butter, 
milk, vegetables, fruit, he can compete with the 
prairies. With a knowledge of the markets, and the 
capacities of the soil, it is not a very difficult mat¬ 
ter to ascertain what crops will pay, and what will 
not. Those who do not study these conditions of 
success, and can not tell what any given crop costs, 
do not know whether it pays or not. We want this 
knowledge and must have it, if we are to succeed in 
business. 'We must give up some of the old crops 
as unsuited to present circumstances, and cultivate 
thoseforwhichwe know there is a profitable demand. 
Or an enterprising man can often create a demand 
for a first rate article (See description of “ clouted 
cream,” in article on “Deerfoot Farm,” in the 
January number, as an example), and thus have 
a speciality that will return him a handsome profit, 
and win him the reputation of being an enterprising 
man. He will at the same time set an example to 
other farmers, that may benefit the agriculture 
of a whole neighborhood or even of a county. 
Frost-Proof Cellars. 
The usual practice of keepingout frost by banking 
up the cellar with earth or manure, is objectiona¬ 
ble for many reasons. 
A much more cleanly 
and effective method 
is by providing an ex¬ 
tra sash for the win¬ 
dow and a sheathing 
of board with an air 
space between it and 
the wall. An extra 
sash may be fitted to 
the window by mak¬ 
ing a frame for the 
opening to which the 
sash is hinged, as 
shown in the cut, fig. 
2. In mild weather, 
the inside-sash may Fig. 1.— protecting 
be thrown up and cellar walls. 
hooked to the ceiling, and closed in cold weather. 
It is necessary to point up with mortar all around 
the window - frames 
both inside and out¬ 
side. Such an extra 
sash is also useful in 
the summer, as it 
keeps heat out then 
as well as heat in at 
this season. Before 
putting up the 
sheathing outside the 
wall, the cracks in 
the stone or brick¬ 
work and under the 
sills are pointed up. 
Then furring - strips 
are fastened to the 
wall, and boards 
nailed to them (see 
fig. 1). The joints-of 
the boards should be 
closed by battens, or the boarding may be of siding. 
Fig. 2.—DOUBLE CELLAR 
WINDOWS. 
